Got this from a friend today.
New Florida Postcard
I love it! I really do appreciate those of you who help me to continue to see humor during these times!! Thanks, Amaryllisgal, for the laugh. My 12 yr old daughter thought it was funny, too!!
Keep smiling ya'll, no matter what! :-)
People are quick aren't they? I love it. A smile from the devastation - how great is that. Don't unpack yet, though.
Read the whole thing......
Alligator Warnings
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is advising hikers, hunters, fishers, and golfers to take extra precautions and keep alert for alligators while in Osceola, Polk, Brevard and Orange Counties. They advise people to wear noise-producing devices; such as, little bells on their clothing, to alert, but not startle, the alligators unexpectedly.
They also advise the carrying of pepper spray in case of an encounter with an alligator. It is also a good idea to watch for fresh signs of alligator activity.
People should recognize the difference between small young alligator and large adult alligator droppings.
Young alligator droppings are smaller and contain fish bones and possibly bird feathers.
Adult alligators droppings have little bells in them and smell like pepper spray.
This hurricane BS is driving me CrAzY !!! I was 2 days without power. Not Fun!
This message was edited Sep 12, 2004 4:35 PM
I already knew it was the adult alligators that you had to be careful of anyway silly.
lol...could you just see a bunch of hunters out stalking through the woods with little bells on their shoes!!
Alocasiaaddict, the humor is appreciated. Keep your sense of humor, especially in the face of disaster. Watched a really 'B' movie with a giant alligator chasing people around in a sewer last night. Worth a giggle.
I saw that one many years ago. It got flushed down the toilet by the son. I saw on TV that: Studies have shown that an Alligator cannot survive in that situation. Feeding on the occasional rat. Not to mention the story takes place in New York, a bit cold for alligators that like to sunbathe frequently and require heat to digest thier food, much like the smaller pet reptillians, that require a "Heat Rock" if the cage or tank is located in air condition. Neat story line though! I was born on a small group of islands at the southernmost tip of florida. When I was about 9 years old I would jump off my grandparents seawall into the water with snorkel gear at sunrise and emerge at sunset with a bag full of the biggest lobsters you'll ever see, after circling a couple of shallow reefs and the seawall of the oceanfront neighborhood. I ran into sharks all the time. They would zoom in lightning fast to see what I was doing, then swim away, probably to search for more bite size prey. This and many other scenarios would happen often. Shark encounters became commonplace, and for the shark, "people encounters". I don't dive for lobsters anymore, but when I did I would NEVER go into fresh water. I'm much more afraid of Alligators than Sharks. But things are different now. As the seas become more overfished and the beaches become more overcrowded more shark attacks are likely. Its weird because I used to spend the whole day at sea as if i was an aquatic creature myself, I would find sunken ships and deep underwater cliffs but swimming in deep freshwater seems really spooky to me for some reason, its so quiet and calm, like somethings waiting for me!
more gator stuff
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What interesting comments. Thanks, Alocasiaaddict!
I have some similar memories of swimming with barracudas around us off Key West (no worries), and swimming with the Manatees in the canals behind my grandfather's house under what is now Miami International Airport.
Back in the 80's I saw some 8 foot Barracudas offshore that would easily take an arm or leg off. Most people would argue with me saying they don't get 8 feet long, but I know better. In my opinion, from a standing start, the barracuda has the most mindblowing acceleration in the ocean. Probably about 0-60 in .4 (four tenths of a second!) but only for a very short period of time, the rest of the time it stays still and waits all day for the right moment to strike. Thing are so different now, groupers used to routinely get the size of Volkswagons, now they have to be 18 inches long to be legal to keep. Its really quite sad, but I guess it the evolution of the earth+man. Look at the Anolis Lizard, those darn critters look like mini-dinosaurs, maybe thats why they survived when the big ones didn't.
More cuda info:
http://www.realbuzz.co.uk/travel/barracuda.htm
I don't remember swimming with any more than about 3 feet.
Cool, really cool!
Alocaasia... I was reading the warning seriously...glad to get a good laugh. And the sign, well that's just a good ol funny right ther!! I lived in Homestead as a child and attended Cocoa Beach High School until the shuttle exploded...moved to TX, returned to graduate from BCC in Melborne. I have seen gators and the scariest thing about them is that you can come right up on them and not know they are there... Only see their eyes and it can easily look like a piece of driftwood in the water... until you see them staring at you. YIKES!
I still shake my head at the memory of being a young child and wading through a flooded field near the everglades to climb on top of a concrete picnic table and bench. I was the smallest of 5 kids and one of the boys looked down into the water once it settled and saw a gator right underneath us. We didn't believe him till we saw it ourselves. They all took off, and being the smallest, I was the last one off the table and bench. I actually jumped into the water and ran out as fast as I could. If it were to happen today, at 34, I would start crying and need a helicopter rescue. :)
Susan McCoy
This message was edited Sep 14, 2004 11:47 PM
Alocasia, when I was a kid, we were on vacation in FL and the big story in the news there was about a girl who was in the hospital because she had gotten an amoeba in her brain from diving in a FL lake. This was not an urban legend. It was in the news for days down there. Apparently that is rare, but it sounds like you were better off in more ways than one by avoiding the freshwater.
Nasty critters like warm wet climates. Outdoors & indoors.
I guess freshwater allows things to survive better than does saline.
Alocasia, that alligator head picture is much more dangerous looking than the 'creature' in the movie. Love all the stories this thread is generating. ~Blooms
We tend to digress! LOL
Another sign...
Ha, ha, ha, ha!
Oh my gosh!!
:)
Susan M.
i think that sign means if your in a wheelchair you could get to the bottom of the hill in a hurry...only to become a gator turd !!